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The Cat House Owner
The Cat House Owner (ネコの大家さん), or The Cat Landlord, is a gag work by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in Deluxe BomBom from 1993-1994. Overview After a rich old woman takes a fall down the stairs and winds up on her deathbed, she grants her entire fortune to her cat Spaghetti. Spaghetti opts to use the money to build a large apartment complex, which he holds ownership over and welcomes new tenants to. The concept of an anthopomorphic cat being rich had previously been explored by Akatsuka in The Flower of Kikuchiyo, though this series would cover somewhat different ground. Characters There is some presence of Akatsuka's Star System throughout the title, be they in prominent guest roles or simple non-speaking cameos. Spaghetti A gluttonous, tough and mischievous cat that can speak. Once he becomes Oku-sama's heir, he starts to dress in a fancy suit and founds the Nyionz Mansion apartment complex. In the final round, Spaghetti is sick and dying due to a drawing collapse disease, which Hamburg impedes all attempts to cure. He seemingly fades from existence, effectively dying until Fujio Akatsuka himself intervenes and draws him back into the comic as a giant version of himself to take on Wani-kun. Oku-sama A rich old woman with a face similar to Bakabon's Papa. She adored Spaghetti a lot and treated him as her very own little prince. She wills her assets to him, then manages to do a dance of victory before finally keeling over. Croquette The old woman's butler. After seeing him naked one day, she is startled by the sight of his penis and falls down the stairs, eventually dying in her frail condition. He becomes the butler of Spaghetti afterwards. Hamburg The jealous, suspicious slacker son of the rich old woman, who hates the preferential treatment Spaghetti gets while he gets nothing. He aims to take his vengeance on Spaghetti for having been his mother's favorite, and will pay off others to cause trouble or even try to kill the cat. At one point, he even relies on Iyami as a hit-man, but discovers he was unable to go through with the assassination. In the final round, Hamburg is fried alive by Kamegoro and Wani-kun and proceeds to leap off the edge of the building. Potato Chips Oku-sama's lawyer. He copies down her dying words and will, bequeathing the riches to Spaghetti. Kamegoro A small turtle that shows up after Spaghetti and Croquette get lost on an island, and is taken back to their place. He somewhat resembles Bakame from Boy Friday, though he is smaller. Wani-kun A hungry, powerful crocodile that joins before the final round. He will eat anything in his path, though his stomach also serves as a holding space for whatever he consumes. After Spaghetti gets him to release Kamegoro and the people he's held captive, he becomes another seeming animal friend at the Nyionzu Mansion. However, in the final round, after Spaghetti fades from existence due to his drawing collapse disease, Wani goes back to devouring others only to be stomped on and defeated by the revitalized Spaghetti. Serialization *Deluxe BomBom: March 1993 to March 1994 The series was succeeded by the 1994 remake of Mom NO.1 Chapters: * 1. The Cat House Owner (ネコの大家さん) * 2. Residents In a Rush!? (入居者殺到！？) * 3. Iyami the Killer (殺し屋イヤミ) * 4. Newton's Lie (ニューストンのウソ) * 5. Family Love (家族愛) * 6. A''' '''Landlord's Marriage Story (大家さんの結婚話) * 7. Resort Experience (リゾート体験) * 8. Hamburg's Counterattack (ハンバーグの反撃) * 9. Croquette is Dangerous (コロッケ危うし) * 10. A''' '''Subway Driver's Dream (地下鉄運転手の夢) * 11. Cat Football Team (ネコのサッカーチーム) * 12. From Turtle to Crocodile (カメからワニへ) * 13. Who is the Next Landlord? (次の大家さんは誰？) Reprints *Shogakukan: Digitized as part of the "Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works" DVD-ROM set, and as part of the print-on-demand version on ComicPark. *eBookJapan: 1 volume External Links Category:Manga Category:1990s works Category:Gag works Category:Works serialized in Deluxe BomBom